• Premier League

Sunderland's Wes Brown suffers injury setback

Martin O'Neill is short of defensive options at Sunderland © PA Photos

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Sunderland defender Wes Brown has suffered a setback in his bid to recover from a knee injury that will now see him out until the New Year.

Brown, 33, joined from Manchester United last summer but has endured a stop-start time to his career on Wearside due to injuries, including his current problem which he suffered during the club's pre-season tour of Korea.

"Wes had a setback in his recovery. He was training with us and doing well when he had a setback and we will assess how much of a setback it is," Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill said.

"He wants to see a specialist who was on holiday last week so he hadn't ability to do that. The fella is down in London, he knows Wes inside-out and he is the man Wes wants to see. Wes himself is really frustrated with it all.

"Having come to a new club he was wanting to make an impression. It's a tough time for him in his career and really frustrating. He wanted to make a mark but unfortunately the comeback has not been easy to overcome."

The news is a further blow to O'Neill's defensive options, with the Sunderland boss already having to cope without Titus Bramble due to a hip problem.

That leaves the club with only Matt Killgallon as cover for the first choice pairing of Carlos Cuellar and John O'Shea - the former Leeds United defender being named as a substitute in Tuesday's 1-0 Capital One Cup defeat to Middlesbrough.

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